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September 2010

September 18, 2010

Such a glorious sunshiney day in Sydney today - perfect for a morning's photography adventure with gal-pals Sheryl (Twospoonfulsofsugar) and Fiona (Polly Street).

The location: the ever spectacular Waverley Cemetery, perched on Sydney's eastern coastal edge with its sweeping views out over the ocean (and just around the corner from Bondi Beach). In true Sydney style, absolute prime real estate, and possibly the cemetery with the world's best views.

The camera: our newest little baby, the Olympus PEN (E-PL1) which Dan allowed out of his sight long enough for me to take on the adventure...

The results:(you may detect a slight blue/yellow theme here...)

And then it was time for a girly chat and a quick, cold drink at the Clovelly Bowls Club next door, with its genuine retro interiors (and kindly staff who allowed us in even though they were closed until lunchtime)...

Classic!

Will upload these and another few photos to my Flickr page sometime over the weekend, but for now I need to get me to bed for some much-needed sleep..!

September 16, 2010

The lovely magazine Dumbo Feather is looking to hire a full-time editor! An absolute dream job for many out there I'm sure...

Here's some details from their blog:

So, we’re on the hunt for a pretty outstanding individual to take the editorial helm of this very special publication. The role will be full-time, based in Melbourne and commence in November. If your heart is racing and the goose bumps are … bumping, if this is your ‘dream job’, we’d love to hear from you. Download the Df Editor Job Description & Application form by clicking here. You’ll need to get cracking as time is of the essence – applications close at the end of this month – 30 September 2010.

September 13, 2010

My lovely friend Alarna is soon to open the doors on Brisbane's newest and cutest shop, Little Jane St, selling all manner of lovely papery goodness, and to celebrate she's holding a launch party tomorrow night!

September 09, 2010

Not that I need a rainy day excuse - I loooooove making books! And over the last few days, that seems all I've been doing... you should see the sorry state of my studio (umm ahhh)...

In truth, I'm creating book samples for the Eco Books bookbinding workshop I'm holding in Sydney this weekend (but more about that later). By 'eco books', I mean handmade books made from recycled and found materials. It's been all sorts of fun scouting around my studio for bits and bobs to turn into a variety of little books - vintage button cards, scraps of fabric, an old 70s 'How to Sew' book, children's ABC blocks, vintage sewing patterns, offcuts of scrapbooking papers, coloured thread - they've all been scavenged and reworked into books.

My favourite, and the one that easily took the longest, was a concertina-folded pocket book based on a vintage sewing theme (in case you hadn't already guessed...).

The covers are made from two vintage button cards adhered to some pinking-sheared scraps of pink paper. The red thread ties together the thick parcel, and serendipitously loops nicely around one of the red buttons to lock it in place.

Inside the concertina-folded book, pocket pages hold a variety of sewing bits (needle book, vintage thread, aqua buttons on a card), as well as three tiny pamphlet books made from fabric, paper, or both.

The three books included a corduroy-covered pamphlet made from bits of an olding sewing book and sewn with red thread; a fabric 'needle book'; and a pamphlet that used pieces from a vintage Butterick sewing pattern. The three books are tiny, and tuck nicely into the pockets inside the concertina-folded book.

The little needle book is a classic example of a pamphlet stitched book, made from just a few scraps of fabric and embroidery thread I had lying around in the craft drawers.

Another little pamphlet book was based on a vintage Butterick sewing pattern I picked up at an op shop. Not that sewing pattern tissue paper is the easiest to bookbind with, but I just love the look of those old graphics! The cover I made from a snippet of the sewing pattern instruction sheet, laminated to some cute 'measuring tape' scrapbooking paper.

I also made a few other concertina-folded examples (not photographed), as well as this bigger, A6-sized, suede-and fabric-covered, pamphlet book:

So, getting back to the Eco Books bookbinding class... It's very short notice, but if you're free this Saturday afternoon (11th September, 1-5pm) I'm holding the class at the NSW Bookbinders Guild bindery workshop in Rozelle. I'll be teaching three different bookbinding techniques: 1. a pamphlet sewn notebook, 2. a pocket concertina book, and 3. a 'chocolate book' - a miniature leatherbound book with windows cut into the spine to expose the coloured page sections inside (shown above).

If you're interested, send me an email and I'll reply with all the class details:

And if you're not able to make it this weekend, I will be holding this class again, possibly next month. So drop me a line if you'd like to know more.

This album shows some of the artworks I've done over the years, and covers a range of mediums including coloured pencil, charcoal, pastel, oils, watercolour, polymer clay, photography, architectural renderings, and a whole mix of others. 'Mix' is a good word...